Belt conveyer



Patented Aug. 8, 1933 PATENT OFFICE,

BELT converse Tage Georg Nyborg, Worcester, England, assignor of one-half to Mark Frederick Higgins,

Worcester, England Application February 29, 1932, Serial No. 595,908, a and in Great Britain May 29, 1931 2 Claims. (Cl. 198139) In connnection with non-portable belt conveyers and more particularly with belt conveyers intended for use in coal. mines, it has already been proposed to fold a portion of vthe belt length back upon itself about an idle roller the location'of which is adjustable in order to provide for adjustability of the position of the loading point of the conveyer'so that theactive belt length can be extended or shortened, for example, during a shift to accommodate change in the loading point. e

The present invention has for its object to provide a simple and cheap constructional form of conveyer embodying the above improvement. The invention accordingly comprises a belt conveyer of the folding-back extension type in which the movable extension roller is carried in slide-ways in which its position can readily be adjusted and fixed, the slide-ways being supported at their ends on ground frames one of which is preferably the frame of the usual driving head.

In the preferred form, the slide-ways extend for about 12 feet and are mounted at one end of the driving head frame and are supported at their remote ends by an auxiliary frame. The slides may be constructed of channel iron and receive a pair of sliding blocks between which the idle roller for the folded-in portion of the belt is mounted. The slides are provided with a pair of mountings to attach the ends of one or a pair of chains which extend round sprockets carried by the driving head or end frame and the auxiliary frame.

The end frame carries a lever provided with a double-headed pawl which can be set up on either side of the lever so that one of the heads lies within a chain link whereby the chains can be drawn in either direction to move the idle roller towards or away from the end frame, a second double-headed pawl being provided to prevent undesired movement in either direction according to the way in which it is set up.

The floating mounting for the idle roller carries in the form illustrated hereafter a depending bracket supporting a second small roller to engage the idle belt length and depress it clear of the lower surface of the movable return drum.

Further, in order to give clearance, a second drum in the end frame lifts the upper portionof the return belt length to a height only slightly below the level of the active belt length. Where the active belt length rises slightly towards the end frame, the slide-ways are also similarly inclined upwardly so that the roller which depresses the active belt length in case of need is only'required to operate during a comparatively small proportion of the possible settings of'the adjustable idle drum.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing-in which Fig. 1 shows a general elevation, and

Fig. 2 is an end view of the adjustable roller on the line IIII of Fig. l. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of a detail. I

Turning now to the'form illustrated, the driving head frame 1 carries a driving drum 2 actuated by any source of power such as an electromotor, not shown. The active belt length 3 runs between side plates 4 of known kind, and after passing round the drum 2 is. lifted by an idle roller 5 so that the immediate return length 6 is located only slightly below the active length 3. The length 6 passes round an adjustable extension roller 7 from which it extends towards the driving head in a folded back length 8 which passes round a fixed roller 9 mounted adjacent the driving head 1, the final return length of belting 10 extending .to the loading point.

According to the inventiomthe movable extension roller 7 is mounted in slide-ways 11, 12 in which its position can readily be adjusted and fixed. In the form illustrated, the roller shaft 13 is. rotatably supported at its ends in blocks 15 received in the slide-ways 11, 12 which are ordinary channel iron sections. The blocks 15 carry depending lugs 16 to which are secured 0 one end of endless chains 1'7 which pass round fixed sprockets 18, 19, sprocket 18 being located in the driving head 1 and sprocket 19 being supported by an auxiliary frame 20 which rests on the ground and supports the remote ends of a the slide-ways 11, 12. The other ends of endless chains .17 are secured to brackets 21 rigid with the blocks 15. V

The endless chains 1'? are adapted to be moved by one or by a pair of levers 22 pivoted to the driving head and carrying a double-headed pawl 23 adapted to engage in a link of the chain to draw it in either direction, a second doubleheaded pawl 24 arresting the chain to prevent undesired movement from the position to which it has been adjusted.

It will be understood that there is a chain 1'1 to each of the two bearing-blocks 15 as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The remote chain may be 10 operated by a second lever 22 or alternatively the shaft of the sprocket 18 may extend across the driving head and cause the second chain to be moved Whenever the single lever 22 is operated.

In the form illustrated, the slide-ways 11, 12 rise upwardly to a slight extent towards the driving head in a direction generally parallel to the slight incline of the upper belt length 3.

It will be appreciated that the extension roller '7 during its traverse of the slides thus moves vertically, and to prevent fouling by the lower return belt length 10 a depression roller 25 is moved with the blocks 15 to depress the lower belt length 10 when the movable extension roller 7 is located to the right of the position in which it is illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1.

The idle roller 5 lifts up the length 6 of belting in order to give the necessary clearance in all positions for the folded-in portion of the belt as will readily be understood.

In the form illustrated the lugs 16, 21 for the chains and the supports for the shaft of roller 25 are formed from a single metal stamping attached by bolts to a slide-block 15 as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

I claim:

1. In a belt conveyer having a belt folded back on itself to allow for extensibility, a pair of slideways, slides slidable. thereon, an extension roller freely rotatable about an axis extending between said slides, ground frames supporting the said slideways, a flexible element movable in both directions to oppositely adjust the slides relative to the ground frames, a lever mounted on one of the ground frames, and a double-ended pawl carried by the lever and selectively cooperating with the flexible element for movement of the slides in either direction through corresponding operation of the lever.

2. In a felt conveyer, a'belt foldable back on itself to allow for extensibility, a pair of slide- Ways, slides mounted thereon, an extension roller freely rotatable about an axis extending between said slides, a driving head including a ground frame, said slideways being supported at one end from said driving head, a second ground frame supporting the other ends of said slideways, chains connecting said slides, the driving head and the ground frame remote from the driving head, a lever mounted on the driving head, a double-ended pawl pivotally connected to the lever and movable to engage the chain on either side of the lever, whereby the chain may be selectively operated in either direction through corresponding movement of the lever to thereby position the slides, and means carried by the head for securing the chain against casual movement after adjustment.

TAGE GEORG NYBORG. 

